Katie-George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal, a formidable pair who have previously won five Paralympic medals together, are now guaranteed to claim at least one more medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris today. This accomplishment is due to their successful qualification for the gold medal race of the women’s B 3,000m individual pursuit at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome. In what they have proclaimed will be their final race together, the pair managed to bag the second place in the qualifying round with a time of 3:20.481.
Their competition in the final will be Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl from Britain who have managed to set a new world record at 3:17.643, finishing as the fastest qualifiers.
When the French team were disqualified during the final qualifier for unclipping, there was significant displeasure from the French spectators. Meanwhile, confirmation of the Irish duo’s spot in the gold medal race drew intense emotional reactions from their camp.
Sharing her feelings on the day, Dunlevy, who had been facing health challenges in the run-up to the race, expressed shock and joy over their qualification. She noted the pressure they overcame and opined that they gave the best performance of their careers having lesser track time compared to other teams.
She further expressed her delight at having her family and McCrystal’s children there to witness their achievement. Despite an air of jubilation and the anticipation of celebrating this victory, Dunlevy noted their focus on fighting for the gold medal. She admitted to being extremely nervous before the race, but proud of their coordination with McCrystal, who expertly steered the bike to a smooth finish.
Martin Gordon partnered with co-pilot Eoin Mullen to break an Irish record in the men’s B 1,000m time-trials at the Velodrome. The pair clocked a time of 1:01.158 in the qualifying rounds, beating the previous Irish best of 1:01.545 that was set by Gordon and co-pilot Eamonn Byrne in Tokyo during the 2021 Games.
Although they only ranked fifth out of six qualifiers, their impressive four-lap pace maintained an average speed of 58 kilometres per hour. The qualification was led by German cyclists Thomas Ulbricht and Robert Föerstemann, who delivered a remarkable time of 59.480, cycling at an average speed of 60 kilometres per hour.
Another Irish duo, Damien Vereker with co-pilot Mitchell McLaughlin, participated in the same event, however, their time of 1:06.740 wasn’t sufficient for them to progress to the final, slated for 12:51 pm in Irish local time.